Good Can Come From Bad
by apishcan18
Summary: Sequel to Dream Job. Spoilers for Nailed and Urban Hellraisers. What does Ryan do when a nail has been shot into his eye and his girlfriend was present at a robbery?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:Miami or it's characters. I'm just borrowing them and will return them good as new. I do lay claim to Sasha Pappas aka Stormy, Mattie Shaw and any other OC's I've forgotten about.

Warning: Major spoilers for Nailed and Urban Hellraisers.

This is the sequal to Dream Job. I'm sorry about the title of this one. It's really bad. I tried my hardest to follow the two episodes as much as I could and some of the dialogue is straight out of the episode. I made changes obiviously to accommodate Stormy and my other OCs. This first chapter is from Nailed and the rest of the story is from Urban Hellraisers. Oh yeah the name in the middle signifies that the following section is from that person's point of view. I hope it's not too confusing. Enjoy and please remember to review.

Good Can Come From Bad

-Sasha-

I tugged off the Gucci heels and tossed them towards the assistant who was packing stuff up after the photo shoot. I gratefully slipped on my white tennis shoes and hunted through the pile of designer clothes to find my purse. The one of a kind Dior bag had been a gift. I may model the big names but I don't usually wear them when I'm not in front of a camera. An Oscar de la Renta evening gown isn't really practical for a veterinarian.

My cell phone rang the moment I turned it on. It was my boyfriend, Ryan Wolfe.

"Hey, honey," I cooed. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" We had a strict rule. He didn't call while he was working and I didn't call while I was working. Ryan was a CSI and needed to focus on his job. As a veterinarian I needed to do the same. I could count on one hand the number times we'd broken that rule and it'd only been for major emergencies.

Ryan sighed. I sensed bad news. We'd been dating for almost two years after nearly five years as friends. I knew Ryan well enough to tell the difference between a tired sigh and an I-don't-want-to-tell-you-this sigh. Ryan had definitely used the I-don't-want-to-tell-you-this sigh.

"Ry, what's going on?" I asked as gently as I could.

-Ryan-

I flinched at the tone of my girlfriends voice. It was her I'm-not-going-to-panic-or-get-mad-just-please-tell-me voice. Sasha Pappas knew me too well. And if I hadn't been pumped full of pain drugs, I would have taken a moment to appreciate it instead of plowing ahead stupidly.

"Stormy, honey, there was an incident yesterday," I said as quickly as I could. Stormy, as I call Sasha, was not going to be happy. "I got a nail shot into my eye. I'm OK. The doctors don't think there was any damage. Um, I can't drive though and was wondering if you could come pick me up."

I waited for her response. Very heavy breathing was all I could hear.

Finally she managed to choke out, "Ry, where are you?"

I could tell she was crying. I tried to not feel bad about making her cry but I couldn't.

"I'm at Miami General. Can you meet me at the ER entrance?" I requested quietly.

A sniff and then, "Yes. I'll be there in 15 minutes."

We hung up.

I filled out the necessary paperwork and, bag in hand, went out the Emergency Room doors, the same one's I'd been wheeled through yesterday.

With some surprise I saw Eric leaning against the wall, waiting for me.

I walked slowly towards him, my bag swinging in my hand. I wished Stormy would hurry up and get here. I sensed an awkward conversation ahead.

Eric shifted so he was facing me. "I heard they were letting you out," he stated.

"Well I promised I wouldn't drive," I said a little too quickly. Where was Stormy?

"I know. That's why I, uh, came by, to give you a lift," Eric sounded a bit hesitate.

"Thanks," I said, looking at the floor, wishing this conversation wasn't taking place.

"Look, I'm going by your place anyway," Eric pressed.

"It's cool. I got a ride," I assured him, wishing once more that Stormy would hurry up.

I started to walk away only to be stopped by Eric.

"Listen, I know this is my fault," Eric said.

Stormy choose that moment to come running up, looking as beautiful as ever, even with her tear streaked makeup.

"Ry!" she called, picking up the pace.

I gave her a smile and asked Eric, "What is?"

"Your eye," he stated, watching Stormy curiously.

"What are you talking about?" I asked just as Stormy reached us. She skidded to a halt beside me, her eyes darting between Eric and me. I'd never introduced her to any of my co-workers.

"I'm talking about it… it was my call. K, no matter what's going on in my life I shoulda, I shoulda rolled," Eric stuttered through his attempt at saying sorry.

"And take a nail in your eye?" I asked incredulously, a half smile on my face.

Stormy waited quietly beside me. She seemed to sense that I needed this talk as much as Eric did, even if neither one of us liked it.

"I don't think so," I continued. "Look, Eric, I went in there without any back up. I went in there without my gun drawn. This is my fault." Eric seemed at a loss for words so I plowed on. "Uh, thank you very much for driving me to the ER. That was some crazy driving."

Eric smiled and half laughed. "It was no problem. So who's this young lady?"

I looked over at Stormy. She was impatiently shifting her weight from one tennis shoe covered foot to the other. The white tennis shoes looked odd next to her designer clothes. She hadn't changed after the shoot.

"Delko, meet Sasha Pappas. Stormy, meet Eric Delko," I introduced the two.

"It's," she paused to search for the right word, "nice to meet you." Her tone was I'm-happy-but-I'm-not-happy.

"Likewise. So how do you know Wolfe?" Eric asked.

Stormy smiled. "We met in college." She looked up at me with concern. "Honey, don't you think I should get you home?"

-Eric-

Wolfe had a girlfriend?! I nearly fell over in shock. He hadn't so much as hinted that he was dating anyone in the year we'd been working together.

The two of them started to walk towards the outside entrance. I fell into step beside Wolfe.

I felt the need to tell him, "Look, you ever mention anything about Delko time again, you're going to need to rent a room in this place."

Stormy burst out laughing as Wolfe replied, "Fair enough."

"Ry, you're going to explain that one," Stormy said once her laughter had died down.

Wolfe grinned at her, "I think I have time for that."

To be continued...

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	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to Save the Elmo and AIOfan for reviewing. The rest of the story will now deal with Urban Hellraisers. Again the thing with the different point of views is happening. Hope you like it. Now on with the story...

One Week Later

Sasha

I pulled up to Dade Mutual Bank in my cherry red convertible. I grabbed my purse and went to deposit the week's checks into the clinic's account. It had been a good week. My partner and I had only had to put down two animals between us. My heart still wrenched at the thought of the poor kitten that a little girl had found when she playing in her front yard. The kitten had been starved and was severally sick. There'd been nothing I could do to help it other then put it out of its misery. Ryan had held me as I cried that night.

I was just finishing up my transactions with the teller when suddenly a male voice shouted, "Everybody get down!" And then the shooting started.

I dove for the ground, praying that none of the bullets would hit anyone. It all lasted only a few minutes but it felt like an eternity. I huddled against the tellers station and prayed like I'd never prayed in my life.

Someone shouted, "Miami-Dade MD!" and then more shoots rang out.

I flinched as one of the robbers fell to the ground, dead.

"Cop! Take 'em out!" someone yelled. The wood near me splintered as a bullet buried itself into it. I felt something graze my cheek but there was no pain. As suddenly as it had begun, it was over, with the robbers letting off another round of bullets that shattered windows and almost caused me to go deaf.

As soon as I was sure they were gone I immediately started to check for injuries. I may be a vet but there were still basic practices that applied to humans and animals. The security guard was dead. One man had been shot in the leg. I enlisted a nearby woman to put pressure on it so he wouldn't bleed out. Another man had taken two bullets, one in his arm and another in his lower abdomen area. I was keeping pressure on both wounds when the paramedics arrived and took over.

It wasn't until then that I noticed that the cop was Eric Delko

_Ryan's gonna kill me_, I thought miserably as a paramedic led me outside to look at my bleeding cheek.

Ryan

I flashed my badge to the officer and continued on my way to the bank were Eric had been caught up in a robbery.

Ericka Sykes, a reporter who I'd had had issues with in the past, approached me. "Your eye looks better," she said as way of a greeting.

I turned at her voice, irritated at hearing it. I was sick of her pursuing me.

"Guess the antibiotic's working," she added, with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said in an I-don't-care voice as I turned away from her to continue on to the bank.

An officer held up the crime scene tape to make it easier for me to walk under it.

"Ryan, can I have a word?" she seemed to finally understand that I didn't want to talk to her.

I rolled my eyes. What a stupid question. Of course I wasn't going to give her a word. And I told her so. "No. No, no, no, no, no comments. Zero. Zip," I couldn't believe she wouldn't just leave me alone.

Ericka looked annoyed now, just like I felt. "Ryan, if you don't deal with this it's going to bite you in the-"

I cut her off. "Look, my colleague almost got killed. So until we catch these guys, I'm not going to say another word to you."

Ericka didn't like this and her face showed it. "It's your loss," she said regretfully.

"I'll survive," I tried to not be smug. I gave her one more annoyed look and then turned and left her standing on the other side of the yellow tape.

I was almost to the front entrance when a voice called out, "Ry!"

I felt my blood go cold. It couldn't be her. No, it wasn't Stormy. I was imagining things. My girlfriend had not been present during the bank robbery. Stormy was safe at the clinic, doing whatever she did as a vet.

"Ryan." I had barely enough time to drop my kit before Stormy was throwing her arms around me, sobbing.

Eric stood a few yards away, a helpless look on his face.

"Stormy, what's going on, honey?" I asked, easing her away from me so I could see her face. I was horrified to see a bandage on her left cheek.

"I was just depositing the clinic's checks, like I do every week, and they started shooting," more tears.

I pulled her close to me again.

Eric approached.

Our eyes met.

I mouthed, "Thank you." I knew Eric had been watching out for her.

Eric

When I saw Stormy I felt my stomach drop to my ankles. Wolfe was going to freak.

She looked up and our eyes met. The half dazed look on her face concerned me. I approached her.

"Stormy," I said softly.

"Eric. Ry's gonna kill me," Stormy said, her eyes starting to glaze over.

"No, he's not," I quickly assured her, even though we both knew I was lying.

Stormy gave a small smile. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"Better then you are," I gestured towards the white bandage on her cheek.

She lifted a hand to touch the gauze. It was shaking.

"Let me stay with you. At least until Wolfe shows up," I offered. The evidence wasn't going anywhere and I highly doubted I'd be part of the investigation anyway, having been involved.

Stormy nodded. "OK."

It was several minutes before Wolfe finally showed up, minutes spent in silence. Stormy didn't seem to mind and I didn't press her for conversation.

Suddenly she looked up and gasped, "Ry!" She leapt to her feet and darted forward.

I looked at where she was headed. Sure enough, there was Wolfe, fending off Ericka Sykes. I followed Stormy at a distance, watched her throw herself into Wolfe's arms, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Wolfe noticed me standing there, I'm sure my helplessness showed on my face. The couple exchanged some words before Wolfe again pulled Stormy into his arms.

I walked closer.

Wolfe looked and mouthed, "Thank you."

I nodded before going into the bank to talk to Lt. Horatio Caine, my boss. He was talking to Detective Frank Tripp.

"OK, not necessarily true. Eric," Horatio said as I walked up.

"So according to procedure I'm on desk duty, right?" I asked, not all together pleased with that thought.

"No, actually, you're an eye witness. How long after they entered did they start shooting the cameras?" Horatio replied, playing with his sunglasses in his hands.

"Immediately," I answered without hesitation, my mind flashing back to the robbery.

"Ok. Where were you?" Horatio asked.

I paused to think about it. "I was, ah, I was talking to the bank manager." I paused again, remembering that the bank manager had been dragged off with the robbers when they left.

I suddenly remembered something else. The ATM. "But before that I was at the ATM."

"Eric, the ATM has a camera."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to get a hold of the video tapes. I'll get them over to AV."

I started to walk away as Horatio added, "Keep me posted." "Will do."

To be continued...

Like it? Hate it? Let me know. Push the little blue/purple button and review please.


	3. Chapter 3

Big thanks to everyone who's reviewed. Glad you like it. I'm sorry to say that most of this chapter will be taken straight from the episode. Again sorry about that but it's needed for the rest story. Speaking of the story let's get on with it.

-Ryan-

I finished processing the bank with Calleigh's help. Stormy's best friend and half owner of the clinic, Mattie Shaw, showed up to take Stormy home and watch her. I made Mattie promise to call me if something happened. I wished I could be there for Stormy but catching these guys would make everyone feel better. I would definitely feel better when they were finally behind bars.

After processing the bank, I found myself in the AV lab with Dan Cooper and Eric, looking at the security cameras.

Dan was explaining about the banks cameras. "The bank had two cameras outside, one on the ATM itself and another positioned to capture a view of the parking lot. They were set to take photos at six second intervals."

Eric gestured at the screen. "Alright. Can you split screen it?" he asked, all business.

"Yeah." Dan hit a couple keys on his keyboard and the smaller screen that showed the parking lot blew up so that it took over half of the screen. "I can sync 'em up," Dan added, punching a couple more keys.

The camera on the left, the one from the ATM, showed a woman with Eric behind her. A very beautiful woman. Eric in the camera looked down, obviously checking the woman out.

"Whoa," Dan said when he saw the woman and Eric.

I smiled, "At least your day started out well."

"Yeah," Eric laughed. "I almost forgot why I was there."

The screen showed the woman finishing her transaction, turning and catching Eric watching her before walking away.

I spotted Stormy's convertible pull into the empty spot beside Eric's Hummer. I felt my stomach clench. She shouldn't have been there.

"You didn't get her number?" Dan asked Eric, completely unaware that my thoughts had wandered to my girlfriend.

Eric made a sound of regret, still watching the screen, which now showed him making an angry face at the ATM machine. Eric disappeared from the camera's view, into the bank we all knew. The robbers car appeared on the right half of the screen, the parking lot camera.

"There's the robbers vehicle," Eric stated unnecessarily.

A couple more frames went by before I noticed something. "Wait. Wait," I told Dan. "Go back a few frames."

Dan reached over and hit a couple buttons, making the cameras jump back to where Eric was pounding on the ATM and the robbers weren't even in view yet.

We watched the whole thing again. The robbers turned into the parking lot, drove slowly past the Hummer, Stormy's car and the empty space they would eventually pull into.

"Look at that," Dan observed. "They drive by and then back up before they parked."

Eric gestured towards the screen, "OK. They spotted the Hummer. That means they knew that there was a cop inside."

"Then why'd they go into the bank?" I quickly asked.

"I don't know. Keep going," Eric told Dan. Eric sounded as confused as I felt. This case was getting weirder and weirder by the moment.

We watched the next couple frames as the robbers parked and got out. I noticed that only two showed up on the camera.

"I thought there were three?" I asked out loud.

"The driver is obstructed by the tree," Eric supplied, watching as intently as me. "Jump ahead," Eric commanded Dan, who'd been silent for awhile.

The screen jumped ahead to when the two surviving robbers came out of the bank with the bank manager.

"OK. There they are. They're leaving the bank, they've got the manager," I said, hoping that something useful would show up soon. I had a sudden thought. "What about the car?"

Eric answered, "Plate's obstructed, it's not much."

I spotted something in the cars windshield. "Wait. What's that in the windshield?" I asked, squinting to see it better, as if I could.

"Some kind of sticker," Eric had seen too. Dan clicked a couple buttons on his mouse and the corner of the windshield was enlarged. He ran it through digital enhancement software and a Miami University parking sticker appeared.

"Miami University," Eric stated.

I quickly grabbed my cell to call the Miami U's campus police.

-Sasha-

I fingered the flowers my father had sent. How he heard about my being at the bank when it was robbed could be pinned down to two people, Ryan and Mattie. Mattie was in the living room, handling canceled appointments at the clinic. I felt bad for all the people and pets we were bailing on.

I shuddered as memories of this morning flashed through my head. I could hear the gun fire. It was haunting.

I suddenly needed to see Ryan. I didn't know why. I grabbed my car keys and purse and silently slipped out of the apartment. Mattie was going to kill me when she found me gone.

I drove to the Miami-Dade Crime lab. I'd met Ryan there many times as he got off work but I'd never been inside.

I found the receptionist and asked where I would find Ryan Wolfe. The receptionist was trying to explain to me that I couldn't go any further without clearance from one of the CSIs when a tall red haired man approached me.

"Can I help you miss?" he asked me. I recognized him from this morning. I hadn't actually talked to him but I'd seen Ryan and Eric talking to him.

Before I could answer Ryan came running into view. "Stormy!" he shouted when he saw me. "Mat just called. She said you disappeared," he said as he got closer.

I could feel my control slipping. The events of the day were coming back again, and they were hitting hard.

-Ryan-

I watched as tears filled Stormy's beautiful dark eyes. This morning must have effected her more then I thought.

"Stormy, honey, it's OK," I soothed, wrapping an arm around her, self conscious of the fact Horatio was watching.

"Can I take her somewhere more private?" I asked him, feeling stupid while doing it. I didn't need his permission to comfort my girlfriend.

Horatio nodded. "I think one of the interrogation rooms is free. You can use it."

I gratefully led my crying girlfriend to interrogation room three and sat her down on a chair.

"Stormy, what's going on?" I asked gently.

"I don't know. It's just that every time I close my eyes I'm at the bank. I can hear the gun fire, I can see the windows shattering, I can feel the wood hitting my cheek." Tears cascaded down her cheeks, soaking the bandage on her left cheek.

"Stormy, it's OK to feel this way," I assured her. More tears slipped out of the corner of her eyes.

"How about you stay a little while with me? I'll get it cleared with Horatio and you can talk to me as I work or something? OK?" I suggested.

Stormy nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Ry."

To be continued...

Like it? Hate it? Let me know. Push the little blue/purple button and review please. Thanks for reading everyone.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey I'm back. lol. Thanks to everyone who's reviewing (look Save the Elmo you're not the only one :)

I would like to say that I wrote this before discovering that there was a secret scene or something that had been posted online when the episode originally ran. I found out what it was about when looking something up online and was relieved to find that the contents didn't really change my story if I didn't want to change it. So I didn't.

Well on with the story. Again remember to review. And thanks for reading,

-Horatio-

Ryan was working on the bag that had had the money from the bank stashed in it. A college student from Miami University had been brought in with red dye all over her and the inside of the bag. She claimed to have found it in a laundry room and when she opened the gym bag that dye pack that the bank clerk had stuck in it exploded all over her.

Beside Ryan sat the women that had been at the front desk earlier, Stormy. I remembered seeing her briefly at the bank and wondered if she'd been present at the robbery. She looked much calmer now then she had earlier. Looks like the time spent with Ryan was helping her. I was glad I'd given him permission to let her stay.

"Mr. Wolfe," I started casually. "Is that the money bag?"

"Dye pack pretty much obliterated any chance of finding anything inside," Ryan answered, not looking up from the bag, which his was examining under a magnifying glass.

"Well that leaves the outside, doesn't it?" I suggested, redirecting Ryan's search.

Ryan set down the magnifying glass and turned the bag over to examine the bottom of it. A large bluish grey spot covered most of the underside of the gym bag.

"Water mark," Ryan said, tilting the bag towards me so I could see better.

Stormy leaned forward, interest evident in her eyes.

"Might get us something," Ryan added softly, almost to himself.

"There's one way to find out," I said.

"It'll take some time," Ryan turned the bag right side up.

"Ok. It's not a problem," I assured him. "I'll be on my cell. Mr. Wolfe, I got a call...from Ericka Sykes."

Ryan glanced downward briefly. Stormy's brow furrowed as she frowned, her eyes darting between me and Ryan.

"Damn it," Ryan said softly beneath his breath. He looked back up at me. "Um, I'm really sorry she bothered you. I, ah, I told her I wouldn't give her a quote," Ryan told me, his right hand creeping over to hold Stormy's left hand.

Her frown deepened, her intelligent eyes watching both of us carefully.

"It wasn't about a quote."

Now concern reflected in Ryan's eyes as he sat back in the chair. "What's going on?" he asked, tightening his hold on his girlfriends hand.

"I don't want you to worry about it, OK? I'll take care of it," I assured him, shifting to leave before walking away.

-Ryan-

Stormy didn't question me about what Horatio had talked about, even though I could feel her unasked questions hanging in the air. I tried to not let it distract me. My focus was to process evidence and catch the robbers that had threatened my girlfriend and Eric and killed two people.

I was in the trace lab with Stormy waiting for the results to come back when Eric wandered in.

"Hey, Wolfe, Stormy," he greeted us.

Stormy gave a small hello and I echoed her.

"Where are you on the bag from the bank?" he asked, leaned against a counter top across from us.

I tightened my grip on Stormy's waist to reassure her at the mention of the bank and she leaned in closer to me while answering for me, "We're just waiting for the results of the test Ry ran. There was a water mark on the bottom of the bag that will hopefully say something about where the bag was at before the robbery."

Eric shook his head with a rueful smile. "Did Wolfe tell you to say that?" he asked.

Stormy smiled, an actual smile. It was the first real one I'd seen from her all day. "No, he didn't. Believe it or not, Eric, I am more then a pretty face," Stormy teased him.

Eric took it in stride and shot back, "Really? Coulda fooled me."

Stormy resorted to sticking her tongue out at him in a childish way.

I chuckled at the two of them.

"OK, you two, make nice," I butted in before Eric could respond to Stormy's antics.

Stormy tipped her head back to look at me, a gorgeous smile on her face. I found myself smiling back at her, glad that the real Stormy had emerged from the terror earlier that day.

The printer beeped, letting us know that the test was done and the results were printing. Eric was closest so he grabbed them while I dropped a quick kiss on Stormy's head.

"Forty percent ethylene glycol solution," he read off the paper that the printer had spit out.

"Yeah, that's a coolant mixed into water," I said quickly, the information quickly at my finger tips. I remembered learning that the same year I meet Stormy.

"It keeps water circulating at subfreezing temperatures," Eric added.

"Ice rink," Stormy piped up.

"Yeah," Eric said.

I grinned at her. "How did you know that?" I asked.

Stormy winked. "I dated a hockey player briefly. Before I meet you of course," she added hastily.

-Sasha-

Eric and Ryan got permission to go to the Miami University ice rink. I was going to go with them since I was familiar with the ice arena there but Mattie called just was we were walking to the door.

"Hey Mat, sorry about earlier," I answered my singing cell phone.

Mattie's hurried voice replied, "It's ok, Sasha, forget it. We have an emergency. Remember T-Bone? Mrs. Walters' son's dog?"

I stopped walking. "Yeah."

"He just swallowed a toy truck. I've got it so he can breath but it's a temporary fix. It's going to take both of us to get it out. I'm really sorry to be taking you away from Ryan."

"No, Mat, it's fine. I'll meet you at the clinic in 20 minutes."

Ryan and Eric had stopped walking when I stopped and both were watching me.

I hung up and grimaced. "Sorry, guys, I gotta go. Emergency," I said, fishing around in my purse for my keys.

Ryan stepped forward and wrapped me up in a hug. "If you need anything you have permission to call," he whispered in my ear.

I leaned into him for a moment, breathing in his scent and savoring the feel of his arms around me.

"I have to go," I reminded him gently. "And so do you."

We parted there without saying goodbye. It was another thing Ryan and I did. We didn't say goodbye.

To be continued...

Hate it? Love it? Let me know. Push the little blue/purple button and review. Again thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok sorry this whole chap is from Ryan's POV. Not quite sure how that happened but it did so I'm going to go with it, hopefully you will too. Well enjoy.

One Hour Later

-Ryan-

I almost felt sick. This whole twisted, confusing case was based on a video game. My girlfriend had almost gotten killed because some college students had gotten bored with it and decided to make it real life.

I punched in the numbers from memory onto my cell phone. I had to talk to Stormy.

"Hey, Ryan, shouldn't you be working?" Mattie answered the phone.

"I am. I need to talk Stormy," I told her.

"Sure, Ryan. One moment." I heard Mat set the phone down on the marble counter top in Stormy's kitchen.

A minute later Stormy was picking it up.

"Ry?" she asked, curiosity in her voice.

"Can you come down to CSI headquarters?" I asked.

"There's something I need to show you."

"Yeah. I'll be there soon. I love you, Ry."

I smiled at those words. They signified that all was right in the world, even when it wasn't. "I love you too, Stormy."

I was waiting for her at the front desk with permission from Horatio for Stormy to come back into the lab.

"Come with me," I said, guiding her to the room I'd taken over since being assigned to play to the game to discover where the perps would strike next.

"This is what the this morning about," I gestured towards the screen that I'd paused in the middle of the game. I was still at level one after being shot in level two and killed.

The screen showed the game robber with a gun in his hand advancing on the game bank teller.

Stormy had gone pale. "They were reenacting a video game?" she whispered, her big eyes fastened on the screen.

"Sit down," I commanded, fearful that she would pass out.

"People have died, Ry. Don't they think about that?" her eyes searched out mine.

I wished I could give her answers but even after a year on this job I still haven't figured out all the answers.

"It certainly doesn't look like it, does it?" I said softly, sitting down across from Stormy.

She shook her head. "No, it doesn't."

Stormy was leaning against me, half asleep. I had been playing for awhile now. I was starting to get sick of it, I could tell Stormy was.

Eric walked in just as I was starting level one, the bank robbery, again.

I was glad Stormy had her eyes closed. It had taken a couple times through the game before she stopped shaking when I played level one.

"You see Peter Elliot?" Eric asked.

"That that Federal guy with the salt and pepper hair?" I questioned, only half sure of who Eric was talking about.

Stormy blinked sleepily and raised her head from my shoulder.

"Yeah," Eric said.

"Yeah, he poked his head in. He wanted the Questionable Documents Lab," Stormy answered for me, saying exactly what I was going to say. I kept playing the game, it was becoming very routine by now.

"You sent him to Fingerprints, right?"

"Yeah, of course," I scoffed. "He's just here to see Calleigh anyway."

Eric gave a small laugh. "Yeah, he's had a thing for Calleigh since the first money case they worked together. You get anything yet?"

"I can't get past the second level. Because you keep shooting me," I said in frustration.

"What?" Eric looked down at me.

Stormy frowned, she was just as confused as Eric was by my comment.

"It's not you, it's the, it's the cop in this game," I explained, just as I got shot again by the cop I'd been complaining about. 'You're Dead' flashed on the screen. I inwardly groaned. Back to level one and Stormy was fully alert now.

Eric sat down in the empty seat to my left. "That's weird," he said softly, intently watching the screen and the unfolding drama. "It's just like this morning in the bank."

Stormy nodded her agreement, her dark eyes shadowed.

The pace slowed down to show a bullet leaving the robbers gun and heading towards a bank tellers head.

Eric glanced down briefly. "I wish I could have saved that teller," he said regretfully.

"At least you were there for the girl," Stormy tried to consol him.

"In the game she's worth a thousand points," I added.

Eric paused. "For raping her?" Eric sounded shocked.

"Yeah. Now you know why I stopped playing this game at home."

Eric looked shocked as he absorbed that piece of information.

We discussed the case a bit more while I mindlessly played the game. All three of us sat up straighter when a new part of the game started to play. Sniper Mode flashed on the screen while showing a sniper rifle.

"What the hell is that?" Eric and Stormy asked at the same time.

"It's a sniper mode," I answered, leaned forward.

"Sniper?" Eric started. "I didn't see a sniper there today."

Stormy's eyes got really big. "You could have been killed," she whispered.

"Doesn't mean there wasn't one on a nearby building watching," I said quietly.

"Well then why didn't he take a shot?" Eric wondered.

Stormy was starting to look lost and scared and stayed quiet.

"Only one way to find out. Let's go," I set down the controller and started to get up. I was really sick of playing that game and wanted out of the lab.

"No, hold on. Not you. You stay and you play the game. You're the only one who knows how," Eric ordered.

"Yeah but then I lose the car," I protested. (AN: I'm not really sure what that last word that Ryan said was. This is the best I could make out)

"I guess so. Keep playing, game boy," Eric rose and left then.

I was jealous.

Then I felt a touch on my shoulder.

"Ry, could you teach me how to play the game?" Stormy asked quietly.

To be continued...

Hate it? Love it? Let me know. Push the little blue/purple button and review. Again thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

Last chap. I'm kinda sad. It's all over. For the moment. But Ryan and Stormy might be getting some more stories if the inspiration strikes. So read, enjoy and keep an eye out for more. BIG thanks to everyone who's reviewed this far.

-Sasha-

I got bored quickly with playing the game. So Ryan and I took turns playing. I just gotten back from using the restroom when Ryan went flying by me.

"Ry, what the-?" I started when he cut me off.

"Stay here. Don't leave this room!" he ordered.

I gave him a funny look. I wandered into the room, wondering if I should continue playing the game.

I froze when I saw the screen. The robbers were stealing back the evidence. They were coming to CSI! I could feel the shakes coming back. They had plagued me off and on all day.

Suddenly gun fire rang out. I dove for the ground just as the glass window above me shattered, showering me in glass.

I bit back the cry of pain as thousands of tiny shards of glass dug into my skin. No more guns went off. I was scared to move, in case I did more damage to myself.

"Stormy?" Ry called.

"In here, Ry," I answered as loudly as I could.

"Oh god, Stormy, don't move. I'll go get help."

"No worries," I murmured to myself. "I have no plans on moving."

I was just marveling at how calm I was staying when Ryan returned with help.

Someone carefully swept up the glass surrounding me while Ryan and someone else carefully pulled the glass from my skin with tweezers. I tried to stay as still as I could. Ryan talked to me as they worked.

Horatio stopped by just as Ryan was helping me to my feet.

"Is everything OK in here?" he asked.

I carefully ran my hand through my long dark hair, sending shards of glass tumbling to the floor.

"Gotta brush?" I asked, staring down at the reflections of light on the floor.

"H, could I take Stormy home please?" Ryan asked, frowning at my hair and the glass it contained.

"As soon as all the glass has been removed," Horatio answered, with a half smile.

I buried my face in Ryan's shoulder to stifle the cry of pain as the ER doctor dressed some of the more serious cuts on my arms. Whatever ointment he was putting on them, it hurt. Alexx Woods, the Medical Examiner, had come up to get the body of one of the shooters. Ryan talked her into taking a look at me and Alexx had recommended that we go to the ER. Which is where we were now.

"All done," the doctor announced. The cuts still stung.

"Ry," I murmured tiredly.

"I'm right here," he promptly assured me.

"I wanna go home."

"Yeah. Let me call Horatio and get the necessary paperwork filled out. You stay here."

Ryan pressed a quick kiss to my forehead before stepping away. 15 minutes later he was back.

"I talked to Horatio. Good news. They found the last gamer. It's all over," Ryan announced happily.

I smiled. "That's great."

"Let's get you home."

"All settled?" Ryan asked.

I watched him move about my living room from my spot on the couch. Ryan wouldn't let me do anything.

"Yeah Ry," I said.

"Good. I have a question for you."

Ryan came and sat down next to me.

"OK."

"So you love me and I love you. We're both mature adults with steady work. We've been dating awhile and-"

I cut him off. "Ry, what are you getting at?"

"Please just let me finish," Ryan begged.

I searched his face for any hint of what might be coming. I really really hoped he wasn't breaking up with me. The timing would be horrible. I slowly nodded my head yes.

"So we've been dating awhile, over two years."

Ryan paused.

"I love you Stormy. And I want to come home and find you there. I wanna wake up in the morning and have you next to me. I want to grow old with you. I want to have children with you. Will you please marry me?"

The End

Hate it? Love it? Let me know. Push the little blue/purple button and review. Again thanks for reading. I hope you liked it.


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